i. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to methods and devices for minimally invasive surgical procedures and, more particularly, to surgical and diagnostic instruments having selectively rigidizable components.
ii. Description of the Related Art
In minimally invasive surgical and diagnostic procedures, such as laparoscopic surgery, a surgeon may place one or more small ports into a patient's abdomen to gain access into the abdominal cavity of the patient. A surgeon may use, for example, a port for insufflating the abdominal cavity to create space, a port for introducing a laparoscope for viewing, and a number of other ports for introducing surgical instruments for operating on tissue. Other minimally invasive surgical procedures include natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) wherein surgical instruments and viewing devices are introduced into a patient's body through, for example, the mouth, nose, vagina, or rectum. The benefits of minimally invasive procedures compared to open surgery procedures for treating certain types of wounds and diseases or for diagnosing certain types of conditions, are now well-known to include faster recovery time and less pain for the patient, better outcomes, and lower overall costs.
In many case, the site of interest in an internal cavity or lumen of a patient is remote from the entry port or natural orifice and an instrument having a long shaft leading from the external entry port or natural orifice to the site of interest is required. The shaft in many cases has to be flexible to allow it to be maneuvered from the port or orifice to the site of interest. That flexibility can, however, make operation of the tool at the end of the shaft, generally referred to as an end effector, difficult.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate various aspects of the related art in the field of the invention at the time, and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.